The evolution of medical imaging

The history of medical imaging goes back a long way. For such a complex and multifaceted subject, it would be possible to point to several origins. Nevertheless, one date stands out: the chance discovery of X-rays on November 8, 1895 by the German scientist Wilhelm Roentgen. The medical uses to which they could be put were immediately understood, but it took some twenty years for the medical profession to agree on the harmful nature of ionizing rays when used without precaution. Then, for half a century, X-rays were the alpha and omega of medical imaging (hence the fact that we often speak – and improperly – of radiology and radiologists to refer to medical imaging as a whole), but applications remained limited: orthopedics (visualization of fractures) and chest radiography (diagnosis of tuberculosis in particular). Things took a different turn in the 1960s: X-ray techniques made great...